Racial Geography, Economic Growth and Natural Disaster Resilience

Abstract

Recent development of National Response Plans and National Incident Management Plans has emphasized the need for interoperability of plans, systems, technology, and command structures. However, much less emphasis has been placed on equally important elements such as the at-risk populationsÔÇÖ response to those plans, systems, and directions. The community-wide consequences of Hurricane Katrina demonstrated that the protection of communities should no longer be considered only a function of public organizations. Private organizations, nonprofit organizations and individual households have significant roles to play in these plans. This study is a first attempt to characterize the effect on the resilience (recovery) of metropolitan areas by the presence (or absence) of separate small communities within a larger jurisdiction. These communities can be based on many different social cleavages (ethnic, racial, economic, social, geographic, linguistic, etc.). Several researchers have suggested that emergency planners and urban planners have fewer coordination issues and more uniform responses to directions and policies when those plans and policies are supported by leaders with wide acceptance within the small communities and neighborhoods. There has also been much discussion about the relationship between integrating communities into a common emergency preparedness structure and a larger jurisdictionÔÇÖs ability to restore essential services in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Recovery is slowed when plans ignore or deemphasize the role of neighborhood leadership. In this study we will examine the hypothesis that those urban areas composed of conglomerations of smaller communities suffer slower recovery from natural disasters than more integrated communities where response is more uniform. These issues are important as part of an overall effort to define, characterize, and build AmericaÔÇÖs resilience to natural disasters.